Friday, August 06, 2010

(Left) Then & Now: Wahlberg in the infamous CK campaign in 1991. Wahlberg yesterday in Missouri.

In my weekly column at Towleroad, I barely mentioned what will likely be the big box office draw this weekend, the Mark Wahlberg/ Will Ferrell comedy The Other Guys. I note this because I was moved to discuss National Underwear Day in the same article and what modern star used underwear so successfully to boost their initial fame? Why did I ignore him so? The Other Guys poster implies that you'll be seeing a kind of self-aware satire of a buddy cop comedy. You know... the kind Edgar Wright already delivered memorably with Hot Fuzz (2007). Could these two American hams really top that Brit wit? I'm doubtful... but perhaps they're not trying. I haven't seen it. Maybe the poster is misleading.

Anyway...

Let's look at Wahlberg's career as told to us through movie posters. Is there another star as popular that people still regularly complain can't act?

I missed one film in that line up, an indie called Traveller (1997) but the posters have to be divisible by 3. How many of his 25 have you seen?

Does your answer make you proud, ashamed or dumbfounded? Regarding the latter, do you even remember the films? Should you glance across the posters a pattern emerges. Wahlberg alternates seemingly interchangeable gun-wielding crime dramas with A list auteur-driven ensemble films. (The latter category seems like a 50/50 mix of "instant classic" and "notorious misfire".) The overlap between his two preferred types seems to be the James Gray movies, which are both crime dramas AND auteurish ensemble films. I'd never seen a James Gray film prior to Two Lovers (09, quite good) and, though some smart critics swear by him, from the outside in both plot synopsis and marketing his movies look EXACTLY like generic crime drama programmers, don't they?

Will the upcoming Fighter jack up the modern classics section of his filmography by one? The star seems to think so. I've had a good feeling about it even prior to his biased 'good vibrations' about it. I've been predicting it for the Oscars since April. That was entirely due to its status as a true story and boxing drama, since Oscar loves both. That was not due to it being a reunion of director David O. Russell and Wahlberg, despite their previous and quite awesome collaborations (see: Three Kings and i ♥ huckabees. No, really, see them if you haven't. They're fantastic).

Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter (December 2010)

But I'm thinking too hard over this. Let's simplify. Can Mr. Wahlberg act or not -- answer that eternal question, would ya?

40 comments:

Lucky
said...

Well, I think everyone who has seen i ♥ huckabees can tell he can act. Maybe he just doesn't try in his other films, although he was really good in The Departed as well.

I watched The Lovely Bones yesterday and was interested in seeing Wahlberg in that kind of role. I think he was ok, but I had problems with the film... (I didn't want to believe it was as bad as people and critics said)

I've seen 15 of those and Im damn proud of it. Yeah... I can feel it baby. Marky Mark shoulda won an oscar for I Heart Huckabees imo

my brother was an extra on The Fighter. he said Wahlberg and Bale both seemed on their games and Melissa Leo nailed the accent. we're from Boston so I'll take his word for it.

He also said there was a stupid extra knitting at ringside in plain sight of the camera so David O Russel walked up to him and just said "Knitting? Really? Are you fuckin' kidding me?"apparently hilarious

I'll give him Boogie Nights, I Heart Huckabee's, Three Kings, and The Departed. He's good when his knuckleheaded earnestness is either played for laughs, or as an ironic counterpoint - take those elements away and you're left with `the happening', `planet of the apes; and `the lovely bones', in which he's just wallpaper bland. He looks hilarious in the other guys, so maybe he really should stick to comedy.

I'd say he's a very good actor, but he makes a lot of bad movies and he's usually bad in them.

As for the James Gray films, We Own the Night is a peculiar film - to me it has always felt like ten or twenty minutes got cut out of the middle, and not for the good. But I'd recommend The Yards without hesitation. If you have any kind of affection for classically rendered crime dramas (a la The Godfather, though its certainly not on that level), The Yards is the best modern example out there.

Hmm, he's just not versatile. When he has a good director (or a role that requires solely on anger and toughness) he puts in a fine performance but usually I'd say he's mediocre which is why so many complain about him. He's popular but why? He's hot but his talent isn't exactly worthy of his fame. It's just a backlash. Personally, I really don't know what's the deal about his The Departed performance. I mean, c'mon, the writing did the job for him. I thought he was bangin' in Boogie Night but he's definitly turned worse perfomances than good ones but maybe he's changing for the better as he matures.

You know how much I love Boogie Nights, don't you? (Did I ever mention that? I love that movie) That said, it's not the best film of his career. It's The Yards.

It's not generic, it's not common, it's not usual. It's one of the most compelling movies about a family since The Godfather, and it is also a movie by a director that is absolutely in love with Luchino Visconti.

You can catch Rocco and His Brothers in every scene. Even the casting of Wahlberg seems to point a reference to Renato Salvatori (but Simone, here, is Joaquin Phoenix, and Wahlberg would be our Rocco).

It's a masterful and painful tragedy, told by a director with incredible narrative skills. He should try opera, definitely. We Own The Night is another masterpiece, I must say.

Two Lovers, by the way, is almost a new version of Visconti's White Nights, with Mastroianni and Maria Schell. Plot has several changes, but the mood is basically the same.

Ok, this comment is here to say that James Gray is one of the best directors today and it's a shame that, one more time, the French discovered the gold before Americans.

I love James Gray. He is fantastic. I am not a "smart" anything. I just love his movies.

I've seen most of these movies, all of them I believe...maybe not Fear...anyway, Boogie Nights is my all time favorite film (only slightly challenged by Memento depending on how I feel on a given day), so he gets a lifetime pass from me.

James Gray though...ehh....I really despised We Are the Night, movie just bored me to death.

Rockstar is one of those odd so bad it's good movies that I have to watch at least for a few minutes of Dominic West and Jennifer Aniston actually trying to pull off 20 or whatever she's supposed to be.

David O Russell brings out the natural actor in Mark Wahlberg. Boogie Nights should’ve been his first nomination. His Departed nomination feels like one of those random nominations given to actors for being in a Scorsese picture.

According to his IMDB bio, “The Truth About Charlie” is his personal worst movie. Apparently he doesn’t remember “Fear”; one of the greatest unintentional comedies!

I saw 19 movies.My fav may be "the departed" or one of David O Russel movies but i don't understand why he was nod and the worst may be "fear" or "max payne" or "the happening"my trouble with him is he's inconvincing usually by what he saysAND i want to see "the other guys"(look funny)and "the fighter"(the screen tests are very good)

I've seen 8. Not too shabby. I like him as an actor. He does tend to stick to tough-guy/abrasive roles, but every now and then he goes outside of his comfort zone.

He was a big bright spot in Fuckabees and the Departed. I loved both of his performances in each.

But he was unintentionally hilarious in the Happening. His vocal intonations were so weird and every line of dialogue he spoke sounded like it was in italics. Gah, i love that super hot mess of a movie. lol.

Plus, i do kinda drool over him. Yeah, that's right. Those CK days left an impression on me. The attitude, the crotch grabbing, pants-dropping.

I saw only 2 of those, i ♥ huckabees and The Lovely Bones. It's a shame I didn't manage to go to the cinema even for Date Night, despite the fact that with this film you don't have to be in an extra receptive state of mind as, for instance, for i ♥ huckabees. (I liked it very much, but it wasn't easy to make sense of it. It certainly needs revisiting.)

I definitely think he can act, that's beyond doubt. The reason why I haven't been a fan (=watching his every movie, possibly on opening night) may be that he is too young for me :P. I watched Huckabees for Dustin Hoffman, so that says a lot... No, I'm kidding, it has to do with his films as they are not really my type, though I have The Departed and Boogie Nights on my list.

Guess I'm the only one here who wasn't impressed with I (heart) Huckabees. I just don't get the Wahlberg love in that one or for anyone else. Maybe he's nominally better because he plays more sympathetic than most any of the other characters present. Couldn't stand that movie, period. The Three Kings was much better and he was better in it. He's a limited actor who has a definitive range but works very well when he's there. Very nicely put together bod. He excels when he's working with generous actors (i.e., DiCaprio in BD and Departed). An illustrative scene was in The Departed when Dignam first meets Billy and gives him a terrible time -- DiCaprio is seething but unable to really respond to a cacaphony of insults, forced to hold back and he does so very convincingly. The two actors work in that scene because they both have something solid to respond to, but Wahlberg has the pro-active role and dialogue so he really gets to shine while he's verbally beating DiCaprio to a pulp. He should do very well in The Fighter because he'll have Bale to bounce off of and because he's a very physical actor.

I've seen 12: Boogie Nights, Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, Planet of the Apes, Italian Job, I ♥ Huckabees, The Departed, Shooter, We Own the Night, The Happening, Max Payne and The Lovely Bones.

Best role? Boogie Nights.Worst role? That must be The Happening.

Is he a good actor? Well, he certainly CAN be good, but most of his roles (at least those I've seen) are just... I don't know. He isn't good, but he also isn't that bad. He's probably one of the best examples of mediocre actor.

I've seen ten, never because he was in them. Because....he can't act. ;-)

He has been used (i.e., cast or directed) very well several times, most notably in Fear, I ♥ Huckabees and The Departed, but if you look at Boogie Nights, Planet of the Apes, The Perfect Storm and The Lovely Bones (to name a few), it's just horrendous. Keanu Reeves territory. Tom Cruise without the passion. No thanks.

What cal roth and Daryl G said. With good directors, Walhberg blooms. James Gray is an amazing director and I hope that he continues his association with the actor. More curious about the O'Russell project since that oddness of Huckabees (a movie I adored, but I'm referring to the off-camera stuff that became legendary.)

Wow, can't believe that I've seen 18 of the selections. Have to say that the man CAN act and well when paired with the right directors. Have to agree that Boogie Nights, I <3 Huckabee's, The Departed and Three Kings are his best work so far. Hopefully The Fighter will make it a fifth.

I have seen 8. The presence of Mark Wahlberg was never a factor in me seeing or enjoying them. And not really detrimental either except for The Happening which managed to showcase both Wahlberg's shortcomings as an actor and Night's shortcomings as a director. He is definitely an actor who needs a good director to guide him every step of the way.

I think he's a good actor that has chosen many bad movies. His acting in The Departed was stellar. He was terrific in Shooter and We Own the Night too. While I didn't enjoy Boogie Nights because it wasn't my kind of movie, I still need to confess that it was a good movie and his acting was great in it too. I saw The Other Guys this past weekend and was suprised to find that I actually liked it. I currently have The Corruptor on and it's an awful movie, but his acting isn't bad in it. I just think he chose wrong when he decided to do Fear, The Happening (another awful movie of M Night...the guy should just stop making them) and The Lovely Bones. I can't wait for The Fighter though because, to me, it's got two great actors (Wahlberg and Bale) and is based on a true life story.

Eight. Boogie Nights, Three Kings, Planet of the Apes, I HEART HUCKABEES, The Happening, Shooter, The Italian Job, The Departed. Only 1 was completely worthless as a cinema and acting exprience and, to give a big hint, it wasn't the Shamylan. That one was funny in it's own way.

Just got back from watching the fighter and I have to say Wahlberg was very good; although Bale may have outshone him on some occasions throughout the film. I've always been a fan of Wahlberg and personally I think the Fighter is his best performance to date